Disturbance on developed film

Dagfinn · Mar 10, 2009

Hello,

Having tested an old Minolta SRT-101 for the first time, I have just developed a film of Ilford HP5 plus 400, and find to my surprise that all the negatives have these equally spaced dark fields which start at the wide end and fade into the image.

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/324/testisk.jpg

What on earth has happened here?

Thanks for any feedback.

Dagfinn · Mar 10, 2009

Dagfinn said:
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/324/testisk.jpg

Oh yeah, that's a crop.

Battou · Mar 10, 2009

Hair, I get it all the time.

Wipe off the negitive before scanning/enlarging. Any that remain can be cloned out if absolutely necessary.

JC1220 · Mar 10, 2009

You will find that these correspond with the sprocket holes, if they are dark on the negative, they are a sign of light leaks. Search the forum for related words, I am sure there are a few threads showing the same thing.

compur · Mar 10, 2009

Looks like you need to replace the light seals -- the foam strips that fit
around the edges of the film chamber area. A common situation on Japanese
cameras from the 60s-80s.

Battou · Mar 10, 2009

...I missed that, holy crap.

Dagfinn · Mar 10, 2009

Light leaks! As I somehow suspected. Will some thick black tape along the chamber edges do the trick?

dxqcanada · Mar 10, 2009

You posted a postive image.

As JC mentioned ... these streaks will appear dark on the negative ... and light on the print.

Your positive image shows them as dark ... so I expect it to be light on the negative. If this is correct ... then this is not a light leak.

compur · Mar 10, 2009

^ Good point. It could be a developing issue. Perhaps over-agitation.

randerson07 · Mar 11, 2009

I get those marks fairly often when I do semi stand development, I always thought it was bromide drag, you can see a faint example here
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3080/2848550134_f8006a84a8_b.jpg

You have to look closely at the black areas at the top to see it.

dxqcanada · Mar 11, 2009

I would say that the developing tank was not agitated properly.

I would guess that the dark areas are right under a sprocket hole.
Developer has not washed down under the holes, thus causing underdevelopment.

Actor · Jun 27, 2009

These are called "surge lines."

From Mastering Black-and-white Photography by Bernhard J. Suess, Allworth Press, New York, 1995, pp 52-3.

If the tank is just turned back and forth or simply inverted, flow patterns will be set up that cause uneven developing. These patterns can be particularly noticeable around 35mm film's sprocket holes. Sometimes called surge lines, these are areas of increased density caused by the developer flowing through the sprockets holes. ... The best way to agitate film is by inverting and twisting the daylight tank. Invert the tank totally, one hand on the top of the tank and the other hand on the bottom. As you invert the tank, you should twist the tank with one hand, using the palm of the other hand to steady the tank. The twist is very important, in order to randomize the developer's flow patterns and minimize surge lines. During the 5 seconds of agitation the tank should be inverted and re-inverted four or five times. For the remaining 25 seconds it is best to set the tank down, allowing the developer to soak in. This agitation should be done every 30 seconds, or whatever interval you are using, for the duration of the developing time.

JC1220 · Jun 28, 2009

Since we have not heard back from the OP if the problem has been fixed, the issue can be from a number of things as can be gathered from the responses.

As the OP stated, Old Camera, dark fields leading into the Negatives. Both strong indications of light leaks.

Other options:
Bromide Drag from too little aggitation
Sprocket Surge (surge lines) from over aggitation

I have even seen similar issues from using a dirty reels with too much wash agent left on them, causing increased development around the sprocket holes.

Film being too tightly wound in the camera can cause this.